Filed to story: The Daughter in the Shadows (Yunice) Book by Una Norris
The man’s words held no attempt to hide his disdain for Wyatt. Yunice clearly felt Wyatt’s anger intensify. She quickly pinched his arm, then rose on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear. The bunny girl perked her ears to listen, but heard nothing. This time, Wyatt didn’t stop Yunice. She walked over to the rack and picked the lightest cue stick.
The bunny girl exchanged a quick glance with the middle-aged man, then strolled to the table. Without so much as a glance at the rack, she casually grabbed a cue and broke. Everything was routine. The bunny girl sank a shot with ease. Yunice, on the other hand, fumbled-she didn’t just miss; she didn’t even hit the cue ball properly.
The bunny girl had initially thought Yunice might have a trick or two and was ready to test her. But realizing she was dealing with a complete newbie, she immediately lost interest and shot again with lazy indifference. Except this time, the ball came flying-hard-straight at Yunice’s face.
In pool halls, injuries weren’t rare. A flying cue ball like that could easily break someone’s nose or worse. “Ms. Saunders…” Jordan called out nervously. The middle-aged man took a sip of tea, glancing at Wyatt, whose expression remained unreadable. The bunny girl curled her lips, already bracing for Yunice’s scream.
Just a naive little girl. In the face of something unexpected, she probably wouldn’t even move. Good-maybe she’d learn a lesson from this. But before the bunny girl could finish the thought, her eyes narrowed sharply. Yunice moved. At the last possible second, she lifted her hand into a palm block, tilted her head to one side, and spun on her heel.
There was no loud thud. No cry of pain. Yunice opened her hand and gently placed the now energy-drained ball back on the table. With a smile, she nudged it gently toward the bunny girl. “Your ball. I’m returning it.” The bunny girl’s face turned green as she watched the ball roll to a stop just three inches from her.
“How did you do that?” she asked, dumbfounded. “Javelin mechanics. Middle school PE. Reverse the force.” If Yunice had blocked it with raw strength, her fingers would’ve been wrecked. But by timing it just right and redirecting the momentum, she had absorbed the force without injury.
Of course, dodging would’ve been safer. But she wanted to show off a little. Now, instead of looking like a flustered amateur, she had the upper hand-and the bunny girl couldn’t read her anymore. Seeing her opponent rattled, Yunice added with a smile, “Even though that flying ball was technically a foul, I’ll let you go first. Shall we continue?”
“Let me?” the bunny girl’s expression cracked like a porcelain mask. That sloppy shot, and she still had the nerve to say she was letting her go? Determined to crush Yunice, the bunny girl bent down and played seriously. In one clean sequence, she sank the remaining four solids. Only the black eight remained.
Yunice, on the other hand, hadn’t sunk a single ball. She still had all seven stripes on the table. The bunny girl sneered. Yunice was done for. She was about to pocket the eight when Yunice suddenly piped up sweetly, “Could you give me one more chance, Lady?”
The bunny girl scoffed. “What, afraid of losing? Worried Mr. Cooper will be disappointed?” Yunice made a pitiful face. The bunny girl, now fully amused, leaned back and handed over the cue. “Fine. I did nearly smack you earlier. Call it an apology.”
But if she still couldn’t land a shot? Even more humiliating. “Thank you, Lady.” Yunice stepped forward, narrowed her eyes, and struck. The hit echoed sharply. The bunny girl’s eyes widened in shock as a ball hurtled directly at her. She dodged in a panic, flailing awkwardly-only for the ball to knock her bunny-ear headband off and mess up her carefully styled curls.
She snapped, “Are you blind?!” But before she could keep yelling, she looked back at the table-and froze. The middle-aged man hadn’t expected anything either. When he glanced over, he caught sight of the bunny girl looking like she’d seen a ghost.
Wait… hadn’t Yunice just had all seven of her striped balls on the table? Now, aside from the eight ball, the table was empty. As if to answer his unspoken question, the quiet room suddenly filled with the low rumble of rolling. Seven striped balls dropped one by one into various pockets, before gently clicking into the ball return tray-lined up perfectly. The entire room was silent.
A seven-ball shot in one stroke? In the professional billiards world, the record for a maximum break is 15 balls. The bunny girl had earned the favor of the middle-aged man precisely because of her billiards skills-and her best record was also a seven-ball break, something she couldn’t even replicate consistently.
The fact that Yunice had also sunk seven balls in a single shot-while appearing to be a total amateur-was already hard to swallow. But what made it worse was that only seven balls had been left on the table. Which meant… seven wasn’t even her limit.
No-wait. There was still the black eight, which had been hit off the table. The bunny girl was certain that Yunice had not hit it by accident. That had been deliberate-meant to toy with her.
Not only could Yunice land a seven-ball shot in one stroke, she could calculate and control every ball’s trajectory with razor precision. That kind of skill…
“You faked being a newbie just to set up the perfect layout!” the bunny girl snapped.
Yunice calmly set down her cue. “No need to get upset, Lady. I scratched the eight ball. That means I lost this round.”
“You-!”
Yunice really knew how to make someone explode from frustration and still smile sweetly. The bunny girl wanted a rematch, but Yunice had already taken cover behind Wyatt.
Today, she took a page from Elsie’s playbook and tried playing two-faced. And honestly? It worked. The bunny girl was practically fuming with rage.
Then came a quiet tap-the sound of the middle-aged man placing his teacup down. “Mr. Cooper. Have a seat.” That was his way of acknowledging Yunice’s display. The meeting was on.
Even Jordan, normally stoic, shot Yunice a thumbs-up behind his back. Knowing that things were about to get serious between Wyatt and the man, Yunice quietly excused herself and went to stand with Jordan.
The bunny girl, trying to save face, shoved a headband back over her tousled hair and muttered, “Come on, I’ll take you somewhere for tea.”
They moved to a side lounge. Yunice and Jordan sat across from each other as the bunny girl served fruit juice. 3:06 PM
Then, nervously, “Ms. Saunders, this isn’t something we can resolve over the phone. Can we meet in person?”
That might be the best solution, but Yunice glanced at the time. Wyatt’s meeting didn’t look like it’d be wrapping up soon.
Yunice had just made a solid impression on Wyatt. Leaving early would definitely rub him the wrong way. So she said into the phone, “It doesn’t sound too serious. It’s probably something you ate. I’ll come by after I wrap this up. In the meantime, just don’t-“
A loud crash came from inside the room. Yunice, Jordan, and the bunny girl immediately turned toward the billiards room where Wyatt and the middle-aged man were. The doors were closed, so they couldn’t see what was going on, but the sounds of smashing and crashing inside were deafening. Something was definitely wrong.
The bunny girl was the first to rush forward and shove open the door. Yunice and Jordan weren’t far behind and squeezed in right behind her-three people, one doorway, too cramped. Jordan grabbed the bunny girl in a bear hug, while Yunice slipped past them and darted into the room.
The middle-aged man and Wyatt were in a brawl. Yunice grabbed a golden ornament off the ceremonial shelf without a second thought and charged toward the man. Jordan caught a glimpse and shouted, “Hey, hey, hey!”
Yunice planted herself behind the man and raised the ornament. “Don’t move! I’m mentally unstable! If I hit someone, it doesn’t count as a crime!”
The middle-aged man turned around slowly. When he saw Yunice holding the ornament over her head, he reflexively shrank back. As his face turned, Yunice froze for a second. The man was covering his head, and his face was streaked with blood. The sound of a cane tapping echoed across the room. Wyatt, his eyes locked onto the man, calmly walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yunice.
The man, now being stared down by four people, let out a sneering sigh, then looked exasperated. He protested, “What the hell do you people think you’re doing? I was just messing around.” He moved his hand away from his head and grimaced when he saw the blood. “Damn it. I’m bleeding.”
Yunice gripped the ornament tighter. She was afraid he might retaliate or call for backup. After all, this was his turf. They were the ones who’d barged in like wolves into the lion’s den.
The bunny girl shook off Jordan’s hand over her mouth and shouted, “Somebody! The boss got attacked! Get in here!” A rush of enforcers came storming in. Even Jordan tensed up at the sight. The middle-aged man raised his hand, and the group froze instantly.
Yunice watched as he pulled the patterned silk scarf from around his neck and wiped the blood off his face. Unfortunately, the more he wiped, the worse it looked. His face ended up smeared and gruesome. But he didn’t seem to care. He casually tossed the scarf aside and said to Wyatt, “Young man, being hot-headed doesn’t pay. You two might not care about broken bones, but there’s a young lady with you…”
He pointed straight at Yunice. He probably thought she’d be scared. But instead, she raised the golden ornament even higher and snapped, “Take down the boss first-if any of you so much as touches us, I’ll smash this thing right over your head!”
The man’s eyes widened, then he curled his lips in a strange, amused smirk. “What, is this what your father taught you? Risking your life over some guy?”
Yunice glanced at Wyatt, also thrown off. The guy had just gotten his head busted open and still had the nerve to be lecturing people? But she wasn’t taking any chances. After exchanging looks with Wyatt, she quickly shifted her stance and readied herself for another strike.
The man glanced at her, unimpressed, then casually picked up his teacup and brushed away the foam on the surface. Yunice paused. Mountain Rose Bitter Blend Tra…? That was the kind of tea her father used to drink all the time. She knew that scent like the back of her hand. No way she was mistaken.
The more she thought about it, the more something felt off about what he said earlier. Most people would say, “Is that what your mom taught you?” Not “dad”-unless he really did know her father…
With a loud clang, the ornament slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. “Mr. Carl,” she whispered.
But before she could even finish the sentence, she noticed the middle-aged man actually chuckling. He set down his teacup and gave a warm smile. “Took you long enough,” he said.
Yunice’s eyes welled with tears. “Mr. Carl…”
Carl Crawford raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you just about to bash my skull in?”
Yunice shook her head furiously, tears streaming down her face. She looked at his bleeding head and quickly said, “Mr. Carl, let me dress your wound…”
The shift in tone was so sudden that nobody in the room knew what to do with themselves. Carl Crawford… was someone Yunice already knew? What was their relationship?
Wyatt looked from Carl to Yunice, who was now crying as she fussed over him, and his stomach turned. So who had he just smashed a tea tray over?
As if he could sense Wyatt’s discomfort, Carl-unapologetically petty-pointed straight at him. “Yunice, he’s the one who hit me.”
‘s Brother
Carl gestured animatedly with his hand. “A bottle this big – bam! – right to the head. You tell me, what should I do about that?”
Wyatt, facing Yunice’s gaze, instinctively averted his eyes.
“He…” Yunice faltered, then finally said, “He assaulted a senior. That’s on him.”
Carl clicked his tongue. “If I’d known this is the kind of guy you were marrying – reckless and violent – I wouldn’t have bothered showing up for your wedding.”
Yunice lowered her head and muttered, “Mr. Carl… You already know about the wedding?”
Carl snorted. “I heard the Powell family had something to celebrate. Asked around, found out Paul wasn’t marrying you – this guy is marrying the Saunders girl. And there’s only one Miss Saunders, right? So here I am.”
A bunny girl walked in with a first-aid kit, setting it down while eyeing Yunice with clear disbelief. She probably never imagined the least eye-catching woman here would turn out to be someone Carl personally favored.
Yunice hesitated. The truth was, she was no longer the only daughter of the Saunders family, and the reason the Powell family continued to publicly call her Miss Saunders was because she didn’t even have a real name in that household. Still, Carl likely didn’t know that. He must’ve arranged today’s meeting with Wyatt as a… test. From the looks of things… Wyatt hadn’t passed.
Carl had leverage over Wyatt’s development project. If he wanted to, he could help Yunice stop the wedding altogether. But things had changed. Her father was gone. Yunice wasn’t sure how much Carl still cared. After all, even her own family had betrayed her.